


Hidden Family

by AquosEvolved



Category: Fire Emblem: If | Fire Emblem: Fates
Genre: Gen, Sibling Fluff
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-12-12
Updated: 2017-06-07
Packaged: 2018-09-08 02:51:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 6,101
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8827570
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AquosEvolved/pseuds/AquosEvolved
Summary: A collection of drabbles centering around the Valla royals, before, during, and after the war. Any AU would be mentioned in chapter notes.





	1. Master and Servant

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> For Corrin, living life surrounded by servants isn't always what it's cracked up to be. Yearning for companionship, a prince and a stablehand make a promise.

     Corrin hissed, sucking air through his gritted teeth as the needle tore through his skin. The pain from the stitches being slowly woven into his flesh was nothing compared to that of the shallow gash running across the outer part of his forearm. He was so used to training with his shield that he forgot it wasn't there and then -

     "You really ought to be more careful, Corrin." Lilith scolded him as she tied a knot to prevent the wound from reopening, cutting off the excess as she did so. "No real opponent would let up after injuring you like Gunter does."

     "That's  _Lord_ Corrin to you." He corrected, staring at the blue-haired servant with a serious expression.

     "Ah! Forgive me, milord!" She pleaded upon realizing her blunder, lowering her head. Corrin continued to stare at her through heavily-lidded eyes for a moment or two longer before scrunching up his features and snorting despite the sharp stinging pain in his arm.

     "I'm kidding, I'm kidding!" The silver-haired teen laughed, Lilith letting out a quiet giggle as well.

     Corrin gently flexed his arm a few times by curling and uncurling his hand before rolling his sleeve back down. His laughter faded and he moved his gaze from the stablehand to a non-specific point in the distance. He folded his hands between his knees and let all the air out of his lungs in one slow, continuous breath. Lilith looked up over from where she was returning the needle and thread to the first aid kit on a nearby table.

     "I actually don't mind when someone forgets." He admitted flatly. "Aside from the rare visits from my siblings, I'm always being called "milord", or "Lord Corrin", or "Master Corrin." In truth, I prefer being called just by my name." He flexed his arm again and began to bounce his knee nervously.

     "Well, you  _are_ our master," Lilith reminded him. "And even if you weren't, you're still a prince of Nohr, so it's only fitting that we refer to you as such."

     "But I don't  _want_ to be your master!" Corrin pressed. "I don't want us to be master and servant; I want us to be friends and we can't do that if you keep treating me as someone more than your equal."

     "I...see..." The maid said stiffly, tensing at the prince's tone. 

     The silver-haired prince leaned forward and rested his head in one hand, the other propped against his knee. Closing his eyes and drawing in deep breaths, he felt the slowly building rage coursing in his veins die down. He normalized his breathing and raised his head, supporting his chin against his hand. He let out a nervous, self-deprecating laugh.

     "Gods, you must think I'm some kind of ungrateful brat." He sighed. "I'm surrounded by people who cater to my ever whim; I'm never cold or hungry and never go too long without bathing. Yet with all that, I still have the audacity to take it all for granted and say I want more."

     "Not at all! You've always seemed grateful for everything we do for you." Lilith reassured him. "Being indefinitely confined to a fortress in the middle of nowhere like this must be a struggle, so I can't blame you for longing for companionship."

     Corrin swiveled his gaze to look the stablehand in the eyes, taking notice of the way her golden gaze was slightly reminiscent of the way Elise looked at him. Shaking his head slightly, he moved to rise and stand before the maid.

     "Lilith, I have a favor to ask." The slight tilt of her head beckoned him to go on. "Even if it's only in private, even if it's only for today, do you think you could treat me the same way you treat Felicia or Jakob? Drop all the formalities for a day and treat me as a friend instead of a noble. Could you do that for me?"

     "If that's what you want, then I would be happy to oblige." She said, smiling sweetly. She let out a gasp as she was pulled forward and felt Corrin's arms wrapping around her. She stifled a sniffle as she took in the sensation of her brother's embrace. Alone in the training yard, if only for a moment, she could have easily fooled herself into believing they were a normal family.


	2. Half-Breeds

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Regardless of the contempt some of his subjects held for his heritage, Father had never resented them for it and assured that the royal siblings would do the same."  
> Exploring Shigure and Kana's relationship as well as the first time Shigure's draconic powers surfaced. AU - No Deeprealms. Revelation route.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think this one's a bit long to be considered a "drabble" but I just started writing and the next thing I knew...this:

     "C'mon, Shigure! Hurry uuuupppp!" Kana stood several yards ahead of her brother, tapping her foot impatiently, the sole of her sandal clapping against the flagstones of the walkway.

     "I'm right behind you, sister; no need to fuss." The crown prince of Valla assured her, his mottled gray cloak billowing behind and around him, dragging across the ground in some places. "Why don't you pull your hood up while you wait for me? We're supposed to be blending in, remember?" He suggested as he continued his slow and steady gait. The princess scrunched up her face when she realized she'd forgotten and drew the light cloth over her head, the dull colored fabric casting a faint shadow over her face as it did her brother's.

     As Shigure reached Kana's side, the blue-haired girl realized that he wasn't going to match her speed and she didn't want to stop every couple of minutes to wait for him, so instead she opted to skip beside him, her hand in his. The princess didn't entirely remember why Shigure had asked if she wanted to go into town that day - some festival or celebration or something - but she was happy to be in the bustling streets of the Vallite capital instead of cooped up in the stale air of Castle Primus and even happier to spend time with her older brother. So much so that she hardly even minded putting on shoes when she'd normally be running around barefoot.

     With how fretful Father r was for their safety, it had taken the siblings a great deal of effort to convince him to allow them to go into town unaccompanied. Mother had taken sympathy on them, reminding Father that he knew all too well what it felt like to be cooped up inside and had managed to convince him. They allowed them to go on the condition that they would dress to blend in - especially to make sure that nobody would notice their ears - and not do anything to attract attention to themselves. The blood of dragons running in the veins of the king and his children was still not entirely accepted by everyone, even though he had used the power of said blood to save all of them. Regardless of the contempt some of his subjects held for his heritage, Father had never resented them for it and assured that the royal siblings would do the same. 

     After the pair left the castle grounds and entered the outskirts of town, Kana let out a quiet gasp, her eyes growing wide in awe as noticed bulb-shaped paper lanterns of all sizes and colors lining the fronts of the houses, storefronts, and stalls, shimmery streamers of black, gold, and violet trailing between the handcrafted lights. A calm smile pulled at Shigure's lips as he took note of his sister's joyous wonder, said smile dissipating quickly as he felt a tug on his arm. Kana skipped ahead, desperately trying to pull her brother along with her.

     "What did you say this festival was for, again, big brother?" Kana asked, the fabric of her hood quivering slightly as she turned to look back at him.

     "If I'm not mistaken, this is a Nohrian celebration of the Autumnal Equinox." He replied, quickening his pace to lessen the unrelenting tugging sensation in his arm. He felt it again, pulling him backwards this time, and stopped.

     "What's an awe-tum-null e-quit-knot?" The princess asked him, her gait having slowed considerably as she tried to process these new words, her head tilted in confusion. Shigure put a hand over his mouth as he suppressed a quiet laugh at her valiant but ultimately unsuccessful attempt to reproduce the syllables. 

     "The Autumnal Equinox is just a fancy way of saying that it's the first day of autumn." He explained, sounding the syllables out slower, Kana's confused countenance lifting as her eyes brightened in understanding and the spring returning to her step.

* * *

      "Uhm, I think we're lost..." Shigure stuttered, sweeping his gaze around and pivoting on the spot to look for something familiar but all the shops, stalls, and houses looked so similar it was impossible to tell where they were.

     "Well, that's easy!" Kana chirped innocently. "We just have to go to the plaza and we'll be able to see home from there! But....which way is the plaza?" The cheery confidence slowly faded as she too looked around to see that nothing stood out and everything seemed to blend together. 

     "Gods, I can hardly get a good look at our surroundings with this blasted hood on." The prince muttered, flipping down the dull cloth with a swift, agitated movement. With the gray fabric no longer obscuring his view, he took another look around and spotted a sign that held a vague familiarity to it a ways up the street. Taking his sister's hand in his once again, he headed towards it.  _We should have been back an hour ago, Father and Mother must be worried sick._ He saw a flash of movement out of the corner of his eye and the next thing he knew, the prince and princess of Valla were surrounded by four bandits.

     "Well, well, well. Lookie what we got here! Either my good eye's gone bad or I see a paira pointy ears!" One of them taunted. He looked to be the oldest but was barely any older than Shigure himself. The rest were younger, one of them looking no older than Kana. "Alek, pull that other hood down for me, wouldja?" One of the others dashed in and yanked Kana's hood down before she had time to react. "Make dat  _two_ pairsa pointy ears! Looks like we found us a coupla half-breeds, boys!" Shigure felt something brush against him, looking down to find his sister had moved closer and was clinging to the skirt of his cloak.

     "I don't want any trouble. If you let us go, we won't tell anyone." Shigure said hesitantly. He had no intention of upholding that promise, but he needed to get himself and more importantly the sister that he loved and had sworn to protect out of this situation.

     "You're in no place to be makin' any bargains, here, princey!" The one that yanked Kana's hood - Alek, he remembered - spat. "A coupla freaks like you ain't got no place here at all!"

     "My big brother is  _not_ a freak!" Kana yelled, her eyes squeezed shut. "I am  _not_ a freak!" She yelled again, louder this time. The more fearful than angry tone in her voice caused an unknown sensation to stir in Shigure's chest.

     "Oi, Darius! Shut the brat up, wouldja?" The oldest one jerked his thumb at the princess. "Just don't hurt her too much, tha King n Queen'll prolly pay a hefty ransom to get her back." The second largest one moved in to grab Kana, but she bit down hard when his hand passed over her mouth. The unknown sensation in Shigure's chest grew. It was a burning, angry sensation that made his heart feel like it was on fire. Darius countered the bite with a strong backhanded slap, knocking the little girl off her feet and igniting the burning sensation in the prince's chest.

     "How  _dare_ you?!" Shigure demanded, his normally calm golden eyes blazing with barely contained fury. "How dare you attack such a sweet, innocent girl?! What does it matter if we have draconic blood in our veins?! That does not give you the right to  _assault a child!_ "

     "Well, whatcha gonna do about it, princey?" The oldest bandit scoffed. "Ya gonna get your daddy out here to turn into a dragon and eat us?"

     "Don't be preposterous! My father does not eat people!" Shigure scoffed incredulously, the rage pounding in his veins continuing to build.

     "Darius, Alek, take the brat back to the hideout, I'll take care of Prince Charming over here." The leader tilted his head towards the alleyway they came from.

     "You will be doing no such things!" The building rage burning in the blue-haired teen's veins erupted and he gave into the roar that had been invading his mind. His arm shot forward and twisted into a lance-like appendage, flying sideways to knock into the one that had dared attack his precious little sister. He pulled his arm back in and it returned to normal form, his sleeve somehow remaining undamaged. The bandits stared at him in fear and Shigure stood there panting before letting out an unintelligible, rage-filled roar and dropping to all fours.

     His vision swam with purple dots and he felt a pair of stabbing pains just below his shoulder blades. He was still on all fours, but he felt taller; larger. The floating purple particles had faded and been replaced with a blue tint, like someone was holding a thin piece of fabric over his eyes. He turned his head to look around, noticing a small, familiar figure on the ground. He vaguely registered the sounds of shouting, but even more distant than that was a quiet whimper. The whimpering was coming from the small one. His mind became fixed on a single word; protect. It repeated over and over. Protect, protect, protect.

     More shouting. A dull poking sensation in his arm. Shigure turned to find a figure attacking him with a knife. He reached out and swiped at the figure and watched it fall. He moved towards it but was distracted by movement in the corner of his eye. He heard distant yelling and screaming again. One of the figures had the small one in its arms. The small one thrashed. Protect. He moved forward and lashed out with his tail. Protect. The figure lets go of the small one. Protect. Shigure reached out and pulled the small one closer to him. Protect. He leaned into the face of the one that tried to take the small one and roared.

     The figures scattered but the small one stayed. They crept closer to him. He looked down at them, tilting his head curiously. A familiar voice rang out, still distant sounding. It was the small one. More voices. Angry voices. Shigure turned to see figures holding swords and lances. They were pointed at him and the small one. The figures moved closer. Shigure felt something against his arm. He looked down to find the small one clinging to it. The small one's voice sounded again. More angry voices. The figures moved closer again. Shigure growled. Protect. He reared up to strike. The figures ran before he could. He lowered back down.

     Shigure looked around to see there were no more figures. Just the small one. He yawned and moved to lay down on his stomach. He felt movement against his body and craned his neck to find the small one climbing onto his back. He turned back around and laid his head on the ground and closed his eyes. He didn't know how long he stayed like that, but soon more shouting caused him to open his eyes and raise his head. Two new figures approached. They walked slower than the others and had their arms spread out. The small one called to them. One of them yelled something. He still couldn't understand, but the tone didn't resonate with him well. He growled and backed up. He felt something lightly poke him. The small one didn't sound pleased.

     "...just pa...ma....won't hurt..." He could make out some of the words! They were distant and distorted, like he was hearing them from underwater, but he understood them nonetheless. One of the figures stopped and moved into a defensive stance but the other kept walking. A gentle sound started. It was music! He could very faintly recognize it. It reminded him of when he was very small. Smaller than the small one. The figure was still coming closer. He backed up more. They were still coming. What did they want? He let out a quiet growl. The other figure approached as well. They were making beckoning motions. The two wanted the small one. Protect. He reared up and lashed out but he met nothing but air. The two figures were on the ground a fair distance away. He felt more light poking, harder this time.

     "...just papa and mama...won't hurt us!" The small one's voice was much clearer this time. Wait...Kana? "Please stop this, big brother! This isn't you!" As his sister's voice finally reached him, the dense mental fog Shigure had been suffering from lifted and he felt a sense of clarity. His eyes forced close at a flash of blinding light and when they opened again, he was on his hands and knees, gasping for air. He raised himself into a kneeling position and almost immediately found himself swarmed by his family.

     "I guess you take after me more than I thought, son." Father laughed nervously with hints of guilt and self-deprecation in his voice as he pressed his head against his chest.

     "Don't scare me like that ever again!" Mother fretted, pressing a kiss into his hair.

     "That was so cool!" Kana cheered. "Do you think I can turn into a dragon like you and papa?"

     "I don't think I want to turn into a dragon ever again." The prince muttered, feeling overwhelmed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Given how Kana never attacked Corrin in their Paralogue, I've sort of assumed that a dragon will be able to faintly recognized figures they share strong bonds with during a rampage and recognize that they shouldn't harm these figures. Sure, that doesn't exactly explain why he was suspicious of his parents, but we'll just leave that as a flaw in the concept and move on. Writing for Shigure's "rampage" was interesting, to say the least. I felt that short, simple sentences fit a seemingly mindless beast better than how I usually write. Kana's reaction - or lack thereof - came under the reasoning of "The only other dragon she'd ever encountered was Corrin and having WATCHED Shigure transform, she knew it was him so she didn't think she had a reason to be afraid."


	3. Tribute Room

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another one that was initially meant to be relatively shorter but once again I had so much fun with it and got carried away. My writing hasn't been flowing unimpeded like this in months, so I am quite happy with these results.

     The air was still, thick, and almost unbearably humid, hanging over the castle training grounds like a damp blanket. The open, flat plot of land was left entirely vacant, save for a lone figure swinging wildly whilst muttering to himself.

     "Forehand, up-swing, backhand..." The shining golden blade in his hand danced through the air and across the training dummy before him, his swings only getting faster and more forceful as he went on. Eventually, he entirely stopped calling out his swings and his blows became more and more savage. As his mental control over the destructive instincts pounding in his chest faded, his concentration went with it and the blade in his hand sprang to life. Engulfed in violet flame, the many whirring teeth of the Omega Yato tore into his target, the cuts getting deeper and deeper until the specially reinforced dummy was cleaved in two.

     Corrin let his blade drop to his side, still maintaining his low, spread battle stance and unleashed a roar. The destructive urges that he'd felt building in his chest all day subsided and his thoughts began to clear. Drawing in a deep breath, the Omega Yato responded to its master's will; the flames died down and the tooth-like blades shrank back.

     "Feeling better?" A familiar voice almost made the king jump out of his skin.

     "Gah! Lilith!" He gasped, reeling back slightly. "How long have you been standing there?"

     "Only a few minutes." Lilith smiled innocently, said smile quickly giving way to a mild grimace. "I would have said something sooner, but you, uh, looked pretty concentrated on what you were doing."

     "Yeah, I guess I was." Corrin said with a drawn-out exhale, sheathing his weapon and running a hand through his sweaty hair. He really had no idea whether she felt the same need to periodically rampage as he did, but at least she was understanding when he needed to. "So, what brings you out here?"

     "There's a little project I've been working on that I wanted to show you." His sister chimed in response. Her cheerful smile was infectious, quickly spreading to her older brother's face.

     "Oh? Have you been working on your sewing again? Did you bring it with you?" The silver-haired man asked, always eager to see his sister's hard work.

     "It's not  _that_ small. I didn't mean small in a literal sense." Lilith corrected with a small giggle. "Follow me, if you would?"

      "Lead the way." Corrin encouraged with a forward gesture. 

* * *

     "Where are we going?" Corrin asked, some 10 minutes later. Their walk together had led them into the west wing of the castle, not too far a distance from the central tower.

     "You'll see, we're almost there." Was her only reply. Aside from hiding her relation to him, Corrin had never known Lilith to be so intensely secretive. Whatever this was, she really wanted it to be a surprise. The pair rounded a corner and stopped before a rather plain looking door. "Well, here we are." Lilith said as she unlocked and opened the door.

     What lay before confused him at first, he entered and looked around, not sure what to make of any of this.

     "Sister, what is all this stuff?" He asked, staring at a collection of old, burnt, torn pieces of paper. He craned his neck and realized he could hardly make out most of these symbols. Turning, he came face to face with the head of a familiar statue and then everything clicked. "Anankos..."

    "That's right." Lilith said with a nod. "You never had the chance to truly know our father, so I decided to put together a tribute of sorts for us to remember him by." A small smile tugged at the corners of the king's mouth. His eyes shined with a sense of juvenile wonder as he looked the room over once more. There wasn't much - a framed piece of a tapestry of a man in gray clothes with shoulder length blue hair and of course his face was missing, the head of a statue, those pieces of paper that looked as if they were torn from a book - but it was enough. It was more than enough.

     "Where did you find all this?" Corrin asked, his face beaming.

     "Some of these were just lucky finds, like that tapestry." She explained cheerfully. "That bust is actually the one from the Krakenburg throne room. Xander, understandably, wanted to get rid of the Anankos statue that Garon had. I overheard this and took it off his hands. Honestly, I was worried that you'd catch wind of this and the surprise would be ruined, but I managed to keep you in the dark about this until it was done! Do you like it?"

     "Like it? Lilith, this is amazing! This is..." He trailed off when a familiar disc of gold and black and blue caught his eye. Picking it up gingerly, he turned to face the blue haired woman. "This is Mother's shield, how did you get this?"

     "That was probably the hardest thing to get. I never realized how...frustratingly stubborn and bullheaded King Ryoma could be, sometimes." Of all the things she expected the Hoshidan King to be hesitant to part with, a keepsake of his step-mother may have been one of them, but she still never expected him to be so adamant about it. In the end, all it had taken was simply reminding him that Corrin deserved something to remember her by and they didn't exactly have the space or funds to erect a commemorative statue.

     "You did all this just for me?" Corrin asked, much calmer than before but nonetheless overjoyed. "Gods, Lilith, this is not just a 'small' project, this must have taken so long! I...Thank you." He set Mikoto's shield back down and pulled the blue haired woman into a hug.

     "Happy Birthday, brother." Lilith replied simply, tearing up once again at Corrin's affection.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't think I'm _entirely_ satisfied with this one, so I might do a chapter redux at some point.


	4. Riding Lessons

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> At around seven years old, Prince Shigure has started horseback riding lessons.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Been quite a bit since I uploaded one of these, huh? Aheheh. My passion for Azurrin hasn't died down, believe me, but my inspiration to write for the couple or their family definitely did.

     Azura let out a worried sigh, watching her son ease his pegasus forward from across the field as he followed his aunt’s guidance, the boy’s mannerisms not exactly exuding confidence. She craned her neck to turn her topaz gaze to her husband.

     “I still don’t know how to feel about this.” Azura admitted, shifting her position so her neck wouldn’t be at such an awkward angle. “Are you sure he’s ready?” Corrin’s ruby eyes shifted sideways and he turned his head to meet those of his beloved.

     “Of course I am!” He answered cheerfully. “I started learning to ride when I was around his age and look how well I turned out!” Azura had to quickly avert her gaze to succeed in stifling her laughter. Many words came to mind when describing the King of Valla’s ability to ride a pegasus but ‘well’ was not one of them. “We made sure to bind his pegasus’ wings properly before today’s lessons started, so it’s not like he’ll have to learn to fly before he learns to ride.”

     “I know, that’s not exactly what I’m worried about,” Azura sighed, her gaze once again going across the field to track her son’s movements. The queen and her king gasped in unison when Shigure let out a surprised yelp as his mount reared suddenly, the couple grimacing as he landed hard on his back with a groan. “That’s what I’m worried about!” 

     Corrin was on his feet and tearing across the field in moments with his wife not far behind. As he approached, she skittered to a halt and quickly moved to kneel beside the boy.

     “Are you alright, son?” He asked urgently, helping Shigure into a sitting position and putting a hand behind his back for support. The young prince gave his head a few slow shakes and his hand went up to rest against it.

     “Y-yeah.” Shigure said through gritted teeth, valiantly trying to hold back tears. “I’m not gonna c-cry just because I f-fell....”

     “Aww, it’s okay.” Azura cooed, reaching down from Shigure’s other side to brush the bangs of his sky blue hair from his face. “That fall looked like it really hurt.”

     “I guess it did a little but it r-really wasn’t tha-that bad.” He insisted, trying to swallow the lumps in his throat and flashing an unconvincing smile. His parents laughed silently at their son’s attempt to be macho. 

     “Shigure.” The prince’s attention shifted to his father as the silver-haired man called his name. “Do you remember when your mother and I were teaching your sister to walk?” He nodded slowly. 

     “Do you remember how, at first, she couldn’t walk on her own and would fall down if someone wasn’t there to help hold her up?” His mother asked, quickly understanding where her husband was going with this. Shigure nodded again. “Well, learning to ride a horse or pegasus is a lot like learning to walk; when you start you might not be very good and you might fall a lot at first, but if you keep trying, you’ll eventually learn to stay in the saddle, even when your pegasus rears like she did earlier.”

     “Does that make sense to you?” Corrin asked.

     “Uh-huh.” Shigure nodded. “When you and mama were teaching Kana to walk, she’d fall down a lot and sometimes she’d get hurt and cry but she kept trying and that’s what you’re telling me to do. You want me to keep trying even if I fall and cr-even if I fall.” He quickly cut himself off to preserve his young pride and dignity.

     “Hate to interrupt but while that’s all well and good...” Lilith interjected. “He still had quite the nasty spill. Should I go get my staff?” Her sister-in-law and her brother exchanged a quick glance, down at their son, back to each other, and finally back to her.

     “Yes, I think that’s a wise idea.” Azura agreed with a nod.


	5. Birthday Boy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Corrin was never good at remembering birthdays and that only became worse when under the stress of planning a war. That's what Shigure's been telling himself, anyway.
> 
> -Shared Deeprealm AU, Birthright route-

     The afternoon sun shone brightly, the sky surrounding it a color not too different from the young man blankly watching the clouds lazily drifting, following the sun on its course westward. Shigure scolded himself for such unproductive, unfocused use of his time as the final preparations for the march on Fort Dragonfall happened in the camp several yards to his right. Yet, try as he might, his only desire was to be among the clouds overhead, soaring on the wind, where all his troubles would be miles below. Up there, he wouldn't have to worry about blood on his hands, be it metaphorical or literal, nor would he be thinking about the sting of how busy his parents were. Familiar scampering footsteps pulled him from his reverie as Kana came running up to him, both arms behind her back. 

     Shigure sighed internally. He loved his sister dearly but he was a bit too mentally preoccupied to properly deal with her usual abundance of energy. Nonetheless, he sat up as she skittered to a halt a few feet away, offering a calm smile as she beamed down at him.

     "Hello, Kana. What brings you over here?" He asked, leaning back slightly and bracing his arms behind him.

     "Hey, Shigure! You're over here all by yourself and you looked sad so I thought you might be lonely. That's why I decided to come sit with you!" The girl chattered blithely as she sat down.  _You're not exactly wrong about me being lonely_ _._ He couldn't help but notice she still made an effort to keep her hands out of his line of sight. After a few moments' deliberation, the blue haired teen chose not to say anything, ultimately knowing that she'd show him whatever she had when she wanted to and not a moment sooner. He didn't have to wait long, however.

     "Hey, Shigure?" He responded in turn with a curious hum. "I know today's your birthday and it's not much but here. I picked these when I was patrolling camp with Papa earlier." The girl held out her hand to offer him a small collection of wildflowers in a variety of colors. The gesture was a most familiar one, bringing to mind days long gone by when the two would spend hours out in the field, Kana bringing him flowers and Shigure practicing his art skills by sketching what she brought him, never feeling satisfied until he could get the shapes of the petals just right. When he finished, his sister would always be amazed. She wasn't exactly a talented critic, but there was little doubt in his mind that she was his biggest fan.

     "Thank you, Kana. These flowers are so pretty." Shigure delicately took the flowers from his sister, impressed with how delicately she herself had been with them considering they could have been picked anywhere between several minutes ago and several hours ago. "It's too bad I don't have the time to draw these for you."

     "Aw, that's okay! I actually kinda forgot that you used to do that until you mentioned it." Kana scratched the back of her head gingerly. "I'm glad you like them though."

* * *

 

     "It's far from my best work but it doesn't look too shabby if I do say so myself." Scarlet handed the naginata she had been working on over to Corrin, who turned the weapon over in his hand as he inspected it before taking a brief swipe through the air, nodding to himself as he judged the way the weapon handled with the additional weight of the crystals and sapphires adorning the shaft, two of each sitting just below the point where steel met wood in an alternating pattern. "Then again, you requested for it to be more subtle than what you've seen me use so I guess I shouldn't compare."

     "I think you did a great job." Corrin commented as he took a couple more swings before deciding wholly on his satisfaction. "So...what do I owe you?"

     "Normally, I'd charge a handsome reward for even a simple project like this given that gems ain't cheap." Scarlet smirked as she saw the silver-haired prince pale slightly. "That being said, you did help us run those Nohrian clowns out of Cheve and, from the sounds of things, you've been helping a lot of people struggling under Nohrian rule so let's just call it even for now." She put deliberate emphasis on  _for now_ as she handed over the blade's sheath.

     "Oh! Well, thank you!" Corrin smiled brightly as he slipped the leather binding over the naginata's steel blade, seemingly oblivious to her implications. "I won't forget this kindness, Scarlet."

     "Hey, if you don't mind me asking, who's this even for?" She tilted her head curiously. "I've only ever seen you use that fancy golden sword you've got there and last I checked, your ladyfriend Azura didn't seem to be in need of a new weapon."

     "It's a present for my son, actually! Today's his birthday!" Corrin's eyes shown with pride.

     "Your...son?" Scarlet squinted at him incredulously. "Given how old you are, I don't think your son would be of an age where a weapon is an appropriate birthday present. On top of that, I don't think someone that young should be anywhere near an army that's this deep into enemy territory."

     "It's a long story." The young man sighed.

* * *

     Ryoma and Corrin's words sounded vaguely in Shigure's ears but not much of what they were saying registered. From what he could gather, their scouts couldn't find the enemy's position so, for now, they were instructed to follow standard formation as well as reminding them all of their specific standard protocol for infantry, cavalry, fliers, and rangers. As the two were wrapping up, Shigure heard his father call his name and focused in time to hear him ask to see him in private once they reached the rally point at the top of the rise overlooking Fort Dragonfall. With that, Yato's wielder ended the briefing and called them to march.

     The distance between camp and the rally point was considerably short so Shigure opted to walk and lead his mount to keep up her stamina for the coming battle. He hummed quietly to himself as the trek went on, doing his best to clear his mind of the day's earlier events - or disappointing lack thereof - but ultimately failed. He knew his parents were incredibly busy but even so, the fact that he hardly had a chance to speak with either of them aside from a short chat and a quick "happy birthday, son" at breakfast cut deeper than he was expecting. He had considered bringing it up with them but they probably already felt guilty enough.

     With his head in the clouds and his feet on the ground, the twenty-five minute walk from camp to the rally point passed in what felt like no time at all and, sure enough, he saw his family standing off to one side and adjusted his trajectory to head towards them. As he drew closer, he saw his mother clasping a leather pouch, even closer and he noticed something long and thin leaning against a very dead looking tree behind his father. His curiosity piqued, he picked up the pace to a light jog and just barely managed to pick up a piece of dialogue.

     "Are you ready?" His mother asked, turning to his father, who moved his arm to grasp the long, thin object behind him, nodding and responding "Ready." When he reached the top of the hill, his parents and sister surrounded him in a group hug. "Happy Birthday, Shigure!" All three cheered in hushed excitement.

     "I've been searching in every town we passed but I finally found what I was looking for." Azura told him as she handed him the leather pouch she had been carrying. Shigure quickly took out its contents - a long, narrow slide top box. Opening it, he found a beautifully crafted brush set and a glass inkwell.

     "Mother, this is perfect. I've actually been yearning for a new brush set, how did you know?" He asked as he slid the box closed and returned it to the leather pouch from whence it came, subsequently stowing it in one of his pegasus's small saddlebags. 

     "I wish we could have thrown you a proper celebration." Corrin admitted. "Unfortunately, we're in the middle of a war. Speaking of which, I see you're still using the same naginata we found you with." He slowly brought the weapon he had Scarlet work out from behind him. "I think its time you upgraded."

     "Something pleasant and something practical." Shigure noted aloud as he took his new weapon from his father, quickly removing its sheath and taking a few steps away to perform some test swings. "These are such lovely gifts! Thank you, truly."

     "Your father and I will always love you, Shigure, even if we're too busy to show it." Azura reminded him, hugging him again.

     "I love both of you as well." Shigure reminded in turn.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That ending was kind of a dick move, I know, but at this point, I don't know what any of you expect from me anymore. I've shown multiple times that I'm almost wholly incapable of writing a fluffy ending when I have the chance to turn it into angst. Take this as...preparation, if you would, letting you all of a taste of my style of angst so you can feel at least somewhat prepared for the many, many things I have in store for my Awakening fic.
> 
> I'm a little over one hour into "too late" at the time of posting this, but I think I'm close enough that it still counts. Happy Birthday, my blue raspberry boy!
> 
> Under normal circumstances, I would never write children during the war since the babyrealms are so poorly written and barely try to disguise the fact that IntSys was just pandering. That being said, I still used the Deeprealms here because the parent/child conversation for the Hoshido festival between Corrin and Shigure was at the forefront of my mind when writing this and I feel like Shigure's situation there could easily have repeat incidents.


End file.
